Glossary · Nouns · A
L1 — paginated flat list. Pick a POS, pick a letter.
TermTypeDefinitionClassificationsUpdated
Acrocarpnouna moss in which the main axis is terminated by the archegonium (and hence the capsule)verified
Acrocarpous MossnounMWEa moss in which the main axis is terminated by the archegonium (and hence the capsule)verified
Acrocentric ChromosomenounMWEa chromosome with the centromere near one end so that one chromosomal arm is short and one is longverified
Acrodontnounan animal having teeth consolidated with the summit of the alveolar ridge without socketsverified
Acrogennounany flowerless plant such as a fern (pteridophyte) or moss (bryophyte) in which growth occurs only at the tip of the main stemverified
Acrophonynounnaming a letter of the alphabet by using a word whose initial sound is the sound represented by that letterverified
Acrosomenouna process at the anterior end of a sperm cell that produces enzymes to facilitate penetration of the eggverified
Acrosticnounverse in which certain letters such as the first in each line form a word or messageverified
Acrylamidenouna white crystalline amide of propenoic acid can damage the nervous system and is carcinogenic in laboratory animalsverified
Acrylic AcidnounMWEan unsaturated liquid carboxylic acid used in the manufacture of acrylic resinsverified
Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrenenounany of a class of composite plastics used to make car bodies and cases for computers and other appliancesverified
Act of GodnounMWEa natural and unavoidable catastrophe that interrupts the expected course of eventsverified
Acting OutnounMWEa usually irritating impulsive and uncontrollable outburst by a problem child or a neurotic adultverified
Actinic KeratosisnounMWEan overgrowth of skin layers resulting from extended exposure to the sunverified
Actinide SeriesnounMWE(chemistry) a series of 15 radioactive elements with increasing atomic numbers from actinium to lawrenciumverified
Actinometernounan instrument for measuring the intensity of electromagnetic radiation (usually by the photochemical effect)verified
Actinometrynounmeasuring the intensity of electromagnetic radiation (especially of the sun's rays)verified
Actinomycetenounany bacteria (some of which are pathogenic for humans and animals) belonging to the order Actinomycetalesverified
Actinotherapynoun(medicine) the treatment of disease (especially cancer) by exposure to a radioactive substanceverified
action itemnounMWEA documented event, task or action that needs to take place. Action items are discreet units that can be handled by a single person.ArtifactRegulated
Action OfficernounMWEthe case officer designated to perform an act during a clandestine operation (especially in a hostile area)verified
Action PaintingnounMWEa New York school of painting characterized by freely created abstractionsverified
action plannounMWESteps that must be taken, or activities that must be performed well, for a strategy to succeed. An action plan has three major elements: (1) Specific tasks: what will be done and by whom. (2) Time horizon: when will it be done. (3) Resource allocation: what specific funds are available for specific activities.ArtifactCUI
Action PotentialnounMWEthe local voltage change across the cell wall as a nerve impulse is transmittedverified
Action ReplaynounMWEthe immediate rebroadcast of some action (especially sports action) that has been recorded on videotapeverified
Action SpectrumnounMWEthe efficiency with which electromagnetic radiation produces a photochemical reaction plotted as a function of the wavelength of the radiationverified
actionable intelligencenounMWEInformation that can be acted upon to address, prevent or mitigate a cyber threat. The sum of an information system’s characteristics in the broad categories (software, hardware, network, processes and human) which allows an attacker to probe, enter, attack or maintain a presence in the system and potentially cause damage to an FMI. A smaller attack surface means that the FMI is less exploitable and an attack less likely.CapabilityRestrictedCUI
Activating AgentnounMWE(mineral extraction) a surface-active chemical used in flotation process to increase the attraction to a specific mineralverified
Activation DatanounMWEPrivate data, other than keys, that are required to access cryptographic modules.DataRegulatedCUI
Activation EnergynounMWEthe energy that an atomic system must acquire before a process (such as an emission or reaction) can occurverified
Active Air DefensenounMWEair defense by the use aircraft or missiles or artillery or electronic countermeasuresverified
active attacknounMWEAn attack on the authentication protocol where the Attacker transmits data to the Claimant, Credential Service Provider, Verifier, or Relying Party. Examples of active attacks include man-in-the-middle, impersonation, and session hijacking.Threat
Active BirthnounMWEchildbirth during which the mother is encouraged to be an active participantverified
Active CitizennounMWEa citizen who takes an active role in the community (as in crime prevention and neighborhood watch)verified
active contentnounMWESoftware in various forms that is able to automatically carry out or trigger actions on a computer platform without the intervention of a user.Data
active entitynounMWEThe subject role in an access control model — an entity (generally an individual, process, or device) that causes information to flow among objects or changes system state, as opposed to a passive entity that merely contains or receives information. It is distinguished from a passive object by being the initiating party that requests access to an object or the data within an object; it may be a user, program, or process acting to accomplish a task. The field uses the active/passive distinction to anchor access controls — the security features that govern how users and systems communicate and interact with other systems and resources. The contrast class is equally stable: an object (passive entity) contains information and may be a computer, database, file, program, directory, or field in a table.Identity
Active ImmunitynounMWEa form of acquired immunity in which the body produces its own antibodies against disease-causing antigensverified
Active LearningnounMWEActive learning (also called “query learning,” or sometimes “optimal experimental design” in the statistics literature) is a subfield of machine learning and, more generally, artificial intelligence. The key hypothesis is that, if the learning algorithm is allowed to choose the data from which it learns—to be “curious,” if you will—it will perform better with less training.Process
Active Learning AgentnounMWE[a machine learning algorithm that can] decide what actions to take [with regards to its training data, in contrast to a passive learning agent, which is limited to a fixed policy].System
Active PlacebonounMWEa placebo used in experimental tests of a drug that has noticeable side effectsverified
Active Security TestingnounMWESecurity testing that involves direct interaction with a target, such as sending packets to a target.Process
Active TransportnounMWEtransport of a substance (as a protein or drug) across a cell membrane against the concentration gradientverified
Active VoicenounMWEthe voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is performing the action or causing the happening denoted by the verbverified